John’s Birthday

Was yesterday, February 7th.  So this post is just to tell you all about how it went!

First of all, we went to the theater with Uncle Paul to watch THE LEGO MOVIE!  Peter had found out quite a while ago that the film’s premier would be on John’s birthday, so Daddy got tickets and we all went to see it!  It was very fun, and exactly what John wanted.

After the movie, we went home much-inspired to play with Legos and create all sorts of awesome things.  The result?  The boy’s room floor was promptly covered with Lego bricks.  Fun?  Definitely.  Messy?  Obviously, but that’s okay.

After we had been building for a while, Aunt Anna came over and we had dinner.  Fish n’ Chips, which is quite possibly John’s favorite food.  And, of course, followed by cake and ice cream.  (Picture included because I feel like teasing my China friends)

It was so tasty...

It was so tasty…

After dinner it was present time!  He got lots of fun stuff like Legos and chocolate, and John and Daniel enjoyed putting the sets together.  It was a great birthday, even though John is now fourteen, which somehow makes me feel older than just fifteen.  The important thing is that he had a great day, and everyone else had fun, too.  Happy Birthday, John!

By the way, let’s see if you can figure out how many times the words ‘Lego’ or ‘Legos’ were used in this post!

Lots of chocolate for John!

First Post: Christmas Eve at the Cassetta Home

I know that it’s not Christmas Eve anymore, but I’m hoping that there are still people who will want to read about it anyway.

On Christmas Eve, we have a few traditions. We invite our family or friends over, eat tamales and posole, and play a game called “The Grab Bag”.

Posole

Posole

Tamales

Tamales

Christmas cookies and my attempt at mince pies

Christmas cookies and my attempt at mince pies

I don’t know how the Grab bag tradition started or who made it up, but it’s definitely a highlight of every Christmas Eve. Mommy fills a huge bag with unwrapped gifts, and we take turns passing the bag around and picking things out. There is another rule, though. You can’t look when it’s your turn to pick something.

As the game progresses, we begin trading. Gloria had quite a few offers this time, and ended up with some of the best candies and other items.

IMG_20131224_213628It was a lot of fun to see our relatives and make some advantageous trades with them. Well, advantageous for Gloria…